The Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats has assured the public that Nigeria possesses full capacity to manage Ebola within the country.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Chairman of the Task Force and Chief of Staff to the President, offered this reassurance following an emergency session held at the State House.
Gbajabiamila highlighted that the Task Force has been working quietly behind the scenes since its establishment in June, noting that these ongoing efforts directly enabled the swift identification of the index case reported on Tuesday.
“It’s very important to note this. Since the issue of Ebola came up in June, there have been about 44, 000 flights in and out of Nigeria. So, it’s because of what the Ministry of Health, the task force and all the agencies have been doing. All hands have been on deck,” Gbajabiamila stated, according to a release by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga.
“The passenger with the disease showed no symptoms, which came four days after the woman got into Abuja, and it was the identification process and the protocols that were put in place that enabled the quick identification. That also speaks to the country’s capacity and ability to deal with this disease as best as we can,” he added.
Gbajabiamila explained that the Task Force will refine current procedures, strengthen areas needing reinforcement, and ensure stricter implementation moving forward.
“The Task Force is on top of it. NCDC is on top of it; everyone is on deck. We must build community trust and avoid panic, but it’s also important to state clearly that this is a collaborative effort between the government and the people,” he noted, urging citizens to follow public health guidelines.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, emphasized that Nigeria has skilled health officials, private facilities, and agencies spanning Aviation, Immigration, and Interior, along with state-level actors who have deployed active monitoring systems nationwide.
“We have been conducting contact tracing diligently and isolating those contacts of the index imported case in this country. We will continue to do that, and we want to reassure Nigerians that the federal government, alongside its technical partners, the World Health WHO, the Africa Centre for Disease Control, and our own Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, have activated the incident management system across the various pillars,” Pate explained.
“They are working day and night diligently, and our hospital capabilities are also activated, such that we can aim to contain this case, as has been the case in other countries, but we will not relent. Our population should respect public health directives.”
Pate mentioned that state governments have established response strategies, supported by federal funding and resource deployment.
“Most of our states have adequate response plans. We have the resources, and we’re mobilising those capabilities. And we’re also confident that if we continue on this path, we should be able to dent this outbreak.”
He urged citizens to avoid circulating unverified rumors during the response effort.
“The key also for the population is to avoid spreading misinformation or baseless rumours, which can cause unnecessary panic. The Task Force leadership has met. WHO and Africa CDC are working closely with the team.”
“In addition to our exceptional public health physicians who had successfully tamed this virus in 2014 and had contributed to other countries, we are confident that if we continue in this direction, we will emerge out of this crisis in a much stronger place,” Pate assured.
Key figures attending the strategic meeting included Kemi Nandap, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service; Bunmi Kuku, Managing Director of FAAN; Adamu Adamu, General Manager of FAAN; Pavel Ursu, WHO Representative; and Aliko Ahmed, Special Regional Representative to the Director General of the Africa CDC.
Additional attendees included Oyinade Nathan-Marsh, Secretary of the Task Force; Niniola Williams, Public Health Executive; Dolapo Fasawe, FCT Mandate Secretary for Health and Environment; Victoria Ogala, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee at the State House Medical Centre; Olajumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Akin Abayomi, Lagos State Commissioner for Health; and Captain Donald Spiff, Director of Operations, Licensing and Training Standards at the NCAA.
The Federal Government had previously confirmed an imported case of Ebola virus disease in Abuja, verified through laboratory diagnostic testing.
Pate stated that the patient, a woman who recently arrived from Uganda, showed symptoms four days after landing in Nigeria on October 7, leading to subsequent laboratory confirmation.
Authorities in Uganda have denied that an active Ebola outbreak is taking place in their nation, stating that the exact source of exposure is still under review and that passing through Uganda does not confirm the origin of the infection.
